The future of the internet.

I thought about the possibility of having several live streaming web cams focused on the same area, feeding all this information at once into a HD, and having it resurrected as a 3D (4D?) world wherein users could enter and float around like flies, talk to one another, and even manipulate remote controlled robotic machinery using various commands that are sent online and received by the robots. Applications might include medical operations where specialists from all over the world can work together in one room, and working on space stations and satellites. The technology is already with us, I believe, to make this happen. Feasibly it could be used to enable people to buzz around in real time anywhere the 3D video technology is set up. Societies could evolve where people transcend their human forms and even become immortal.

I once had a more humble thought: flight simulator software that reaches into the Internet to grab real-time weather data so that, for instance, if you were piloting your virtual Cessna 172 a few days ago across Louisiana, you would experience Hurricane Ivan.

That wouldn't be much different from what I was thinking. It all has to do with overcoming the sensory barriers of space and time. There's no reason why anyone shouldn't be able to one day have a sensory existence anywhere on the planet (using satellites that reconstruct virtual 3D environments based on real data). This will make it easier for people around the world with similar interests to work together, but it will also decrease privacy.